If you've got listings that have been sitting for weeks, you're in good company. I've had entire categories go unsold, and they ended up teaching me more about sourcing than almost anything else.
The Find
Early on, I bought a lot of Rae Dunn at Marshalls. It was brand new, everyone seemed to know the name, and I figured that made it a safe bet. I never looked past the brand. I didn't check sold listings or how fast it actually moved, because popular felt like the same thing as in demand.
It wasn't. Most of it sat, and I ended up donating most of it.
Looking back, I made three mistakes at once. I treated a recognizable name as proof people would pay for it, when it only proved they knew it. I assumed brand new gave me an edge, when that only matters if buyers pay more for it. And I bought a lot before testing whether any of it would sell, when one or two pieces would have told me everything.
The Prompt
Lately I've been expanding beyond clothing into thrifted home goods and decorative pieces. A few issues back, I wrote about using AI to figure out which version of an item you're holding. That still applies, but in a new category, knowing what something is only gets you halfway.
So when I snap photos for Gemini or ChatGPT, including any marks and flaws, I now ask three more questions. Is it authentic? Does this kind of item look saturated? Would a discerning buyer find issue with the condition?
The saturation question gets at what I missed with Rae Dunn: whether people are actually buying. The condition question protects you after the sale. The flaws you miss in the aisle are the ones a buyer finds at home.
I lean on AI most in categories I don't know yet. Over time, those answers turn into my own knowledge, and I need to ask less.
Here's the pre-buy check I wish I'd had at Marshalls:
Know what you're holding: the version, not just the brand.
Look up eBay sold listings for that specific version.
Start small in a new category. Test the waters and decide whether it's the right fit for your business before you buy a lot.
One More Thing
Rae Dunn wasn't my only donation run. In my early sourcing days, a ton of glassware went the same way after repricing and cross-listing didn't move it.
Donating is a fine exit for a stalled listing. But if you're doing it a lot, it's usually a sourcing problem, not a listing problem. Once my sourcing improved, I rarely needed to.
Want a second set of eyes before a big buy? Book a 1:1 Reselling Coffee Chat.
Until next time,
Charles